Mail-pouch deliverer.



No. 7I2,|4l. Patented Oct. 28, I902.

H. B. KENNEDY.

MAIL PUUGH DELIVERER.

(Application filed mar. 29, 1902.

(No Model.)

llllllll UNrrnn STATES inrnn'r OFFICE.

HARRY R. KENNEDY, OF INDIANOLA, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO R. S. WOODMANSEE, OF INDIANOLA, IOWA.

MAIL-POUCH DELIVERER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 712,141, dated October 28, 1902. Application filed March 29, 1902. Serial No. 100,628. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY R. KENNEDY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianola, in the county of WVarren and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Pouch Deliverers, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device of the class described which is comro paratively inexpensive and at the same time durable, and,further,to provide a mail-pouch deliverer which can easily be attached to any car and which will throw the mail from the car simply by releasing a single lever.

A further object is to provide a mail-pouch deliverer which can be swung to the top of the car and out of the way of the employees in the car when desired by the operator.

A further object is to provide a mail-pouch 2o deliverer in which the mail-pouches can be placed and can then be moved against the top of the car and held firmly in position by locking, thus holding the filled mail-bags near the top of the car and allowing more room for persons working in the car.

A further object is to provide a mail-pouch deliverer which can be released from its locked upper position and which will swing partially out of the car and release the front part of the basket containing the mail-pouch automatically and cause the pouches to be thrown some distance from the car.

A further object is to provide a mail-pouch deliverer which can be easily moved from 55 one side of the car to the other, and thus enable the operator to throw the mail from either door.

A further object is to provide a mail-pouch deliverer which will prevent the pouches when thrown from the car from being drawn under the car or from being thrown against persons standing on the platform of the station into which the mail-pouch is to be thrown, and thus avoid the danger which is often prevalent on account of mail clerks kicking the pouch out of the door of the car.

My invention consists in certain details in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a cross-section of the car, showing my mail-pouch deliverer in its elevated position against the top of the car. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a portion of the car, showing my mail-pouch deliverer in its extended position after having the pouches thrown out of it. Fig. 3 shows in elevation the complete delivering mechanism and the lower part of the basket swung away from the main portion thereof, and Fig 4 shows in perspective the mechanism detached from the car.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference-numeral 10 to indicafe the car, having the opening 11 in the side thereof for a door. To the top 12 of the car and above the openings 11 I have attached the metal hooks 13, having the two prongs 14 and 15 thereon. The prongs 14 of said hooks are designed to receive the metal bar 16, which bar is rotatably mounted in said hooks for purposes hereinafter made clear.

Firmly attached to the metal bar 16 and a slight distance from each end thereof are the side bars 17 and 18, which are substantially the same length as the height of the door in the car. Firmly attached between these bars 17 and 18 is the prong-bearing cross-bar 19, having the prongs 2O thereon extending from I the cross-bar 19 to the lower end of the bars 17 and 18 and substantially parallel with them. At the opposite end of the metal side bars 17 and 18 from the end on which bar 16 is mounted is the prong-bearing bar 21, rotatably mounted in said side bars, said bar 21 having the prongs 22 of substantially the same length as the bars 20 and are of substantially the same shape. These bars are bent in such away as to form a slight curve, and by the peculiar arrangement of them provide a basket for holding mail-pouches, as

shown in Fig. 1, when they are in their closed 5 position.

Near the top of the car and on the opposite side thereof from where the metal hooks 13 are attached are the metal holders 23 of the same shape as the hook 13. The metal cross-bar rco 21 is rotatably mounted in said holders 23. Said metal cross-bar 24 has the catches 25 and 26 firmly attached thereto, designed to engage the cross prong-bar 21. When it is in its position against the top of the car, the

metal catch 26 has a metal extension 27 on the upper portion thereof, having a perforation 28 in its top portion.

On the prong-bearing bar 21 and outside of the side bar 17 I have firmly fixed the notched washer,designed to receive the rod 30 therein.

When the basket is in its closed position, the rod 30 is held against the outside surface of the side bar 17 by means of the grooved metal plate 31 and the grooved metal plates 32 and 33.

On the metal bar 30 and fixed to it at one end and at the other to the side bar 17 is the spring 34, designed to hold the bar firmly in the notch in the notched plate 29. When the basket is in its closed position, as shown in Fig. 4, this spring is covered entirely by the grooved plate 31, so that any rubbing against it will be prevented.

At the upper end of the rod 30 are the links and hooks 35, designed to engage the hook when the mail-deliverer is in position for use, so that the lower end of the bar 30 will remain in the notch which is in the metal plate 29, and the mail-deliverer is against the top of the car, and also when it is parallel with the sides of the car, but when it swings out from the inside of the car through the opening of the car in such a way that the rod which is held firmly at the top of the car and on the inside of the plate 13 will be drawn upwardly on account of its upper end being farthest away from the outside of the car than the side bars of the mail-deliverer, and will thus be drawn from engagement with the notched metal plate. The weight of the prongs 22-causes them to swing outwardly when the rod 30 is out of engagement with the notched washer 39, so that the mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. 3.

To the perforation 28 at the top of the extension of the catch 26 I have removably attached the hook 36, having the rope 37 attached to the rear end thereof, said rope ex tending over the pulley 38, which is rotatably attached to the side of the car, and said rope is attached at its other end to the central portion of the lever 39, which is pivotally attached to the side of the car and about half-way up at the side of the opening 11, so that by pulling the lever 39 downwardly the rope is drawn downwardly and forwardly and the catches 25 and 26 are released, so that the metal lever is swung downwardly and outwardly from the car.

It will be readily seen that the metal holders 23, which are attached to the top and near the opposite side of the car from the side to which the hooks 13 are attached, as shown in the accompanying drawings, will receive the upper portion of the side bars, and a rod 24, bearing the hooks 25 and 26, can be rotatably mounted in the opposite side of the car on the hooks 13, and the mail-pouch deliverer can be taken off from the hooks 13 and placed in the corresponding hooks at the opposite side of the car, and the rope 37 can be removed from over the pulley 38 and put over a corresponding pulley 38 at the opposite side of the car and attached to a lever corresponding to the lever 39 and attached to the car.

In practical use and assuming thatthe mailpouch delivereris attached to the car as above described and it is hung on the hooks 14, so that the sides 17 and 18 are substantially parallel with the sides of the car, the prongs 22 and are in the position shown in Fig. 4, so that these prongs form a basket, into which the mail-pouches are placed, as shown in Fig. 1. After the pouches have been thrown into the basket the mail-pouch deliverer is swung into the position as shown in Fig. 1 and held firmly by the catches 25 and 26, being in engagement with the prongbearing rod 21. The mail clerk desiring to throw the mail into the station which he is approaching on the train pulls the lever 39 outwardly from the side of the car, and in consequence the catches 25 and 26 are swung away from engagement with the prong-bearing rod 21, so that the weight of the bags and the basket will cause the mail-delivery to be'swung downwardly and outwardly on the hooks 13. The momentum which is obtained by the downward movement of the basket will cause the basket to be swung from the inside of the car, and when this passes outwardly from a position directly over the hook which supports the mechanism, the rod 30 will be drawn upwardly on account of the chain at the upper end thereof being in engagement with the book 15, which is nearer the middle of the car than the hook 14, the rod 30 will be drawn out of engagement with the notch in the notch-bearing washer 29,and the weight of the pouches and the prongs 22 will cause these prongs to be drawn downwardly, and the mail consequently will be thrown from out of the basket. The mail-deliverer then falls back into the position shown in Fig. 2. The operator then turns the prongs 22 of the basket into theposition shown in Fig. 4 and the rod will again engage. the notch in the notch-bearing washer 29 and the device is again ready for use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is-

1. In a car, the combination of a frame, means for detachably supporting said frame to the top of the car, side bars in said frame, prongs supported between said side bar for holding one or more mail-pouches, substan- IIO bar rotatably attached between said side bars, prongs on said bar, means for holding said prongs in position substantially between said side bars, and for releasing said bars and allowing the prongs to swing downwardly, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

3. In a car, the combination of one or more bars swingingly and detachably connected with the top of the car and on the inside thereof, a metal bar firmly attached to said bars, prongs rotatably attached to said bar and capable of swinging outwardly over said bars, means for releasing said bars from the top of the car, means for holding said prongs against said metal plates and for automatically releasing said prongs from engagement with said plates when the prongs swing outside of the car, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

4:. In a car, the combination of bars swingingly and detachably connected with the top of the car, prongs firmly attached between said side bars, prongs rotatably mounted between side bars to form a basket between said side bars, means for holding said prongs in position between said side bars and for automatically releasing said rotatable prongs from between said side bars, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

5. In a car, the combination of hooks attached to the top of the car, side bars rotatably and detachably mounted in said hooks, a cross-bar attached to the middle of said side bars, prongs firmly attached to said cross-bar and between the said side bars, a metal bar rotatably mounted in said side bars and engaging the lower end of each of said prongs, prongs on said metal bar extending in the opposite direction from the prongs on the crossbar when in their closed position, means for holding the prongs attached to rotatable metal bar in their closed position and for releasing said prongs and allowing them to automatically swing outwardly, means for holding the side bars in position against the top of the car and means for releasing one end of said side bars from their position at the top of the car, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

6. In a car, the combination of hooks attached to the top of the car and near one side thereof, side bars swingingly mounted on said hooks, a prong-bearing cross-bar firmly attached between said side bars, prongs fixed to said side bars, a prong-bearing bar rotatably mounted between said side bars in the lower end thereof, a spring-bearing rod slidingly mounted on one of the side bars and attached to the side hooks for engaging said prong-bearing bar and holding it firmly in position when the side bars are inside of the car,

hooks attached to the top of the car for engaging said prong-bearing bar, means for releasing said hooks from engagement with the prong-bearing bar, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

7. In a car, the combination of a frame, means for supporting said frame to the top of the car, side bars insaid frame, a cross-bar between said side bars having prongs thereon, a rotatable prong-bearing bar attached between the lower end of said side bars,means for holding said rotatable prong bearing cross-bar firmly relative to the side bars, for the purposes stated.

8. In a car, the combination of a frame, means for supporting said frame to the top of the car, side bars in said frame, a cross-bar between said side bars having prongs thereon, a rotatable prong-bearing bar attached between the lower end of said side bars, means for holding said rotatable prong bearing cross-bar in a locked position, means for automatically releasing said rotatable prongbearing cross-bar from its locked position, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

9. In a car, the combination with a frame, means for rotatably and detachably supporting said frame to the top of the car, prongs attached to said frame,for the purposes stated.

10. In a car, the combination of a frame rotatably and detachably connected with the top of the car, a prong-bearing bar attached to said frame, and a prong-bearing bar rotatably mounted in said frame, for the purposes stated.

ll. In a car, the combination of a frame, means for detachably and rotatably mounting said frame to the top of the car, a prongsupporting bar firmly attached between the sides of said frame a cross-bar rotatably mounted at the lower end between the sides of said frame, prongs firmly attached to the rotatable cross-bar, for the purposes stated.

12. In a car, the combination of a frame, means for supporting said frame to the top of the car, side bars in said frame prongs firmly attached and between said side bars, prongs rotatably mounted between said side bars and at the lower end thereof, means for holding said rotatabiy-mounted prongs in a locked position relative to the side bars, means for releasing said rotatably-mounted prongs and allowing them to swing outwardly from said frame, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

HARRY R. KENNEDY.

WVitnesses:

W. R. LANE, S. F. OHRIsTY. 

